Crossroads
by BookwormSquidoo
Summary: Jason's job is to protect and guide Annabeth to Rome, Annabeth's job is to marry the Emperor's son and bring peace to Rome and Greece. Both jobs seem to be difficultly impossible but once the journey had started and the roads have met, you'll either go to the road filled with adventure, friendship and love or the road filled with dread and death.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus or anything produced by Rick Riordan.  
**

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**JASON**

Jason had faced a whole group of deadly bandits, psycho killers, and a bloodthirsty army with his head held high but facing the king and queen of Greece who could order his execution the moment he makes a wrong move made him terrified.

He made his way toward their thrones, trying not to show that he's afraid. They were having a banquet so there were so many people were staring at him as he walk. They looked amuse. This was either the first time the king and queen invited a Roman to their castle or he looked like one of those men who eats and spits out fire for a living.

He knelt in front of them to show his respect, "Rise, Praetor Jason of Rome." He heard the king said. Jason did as he was told. He was greeted by a warm smile from the king.

Jason had heard so much about the king of Greece, King Fredrick. They say that he is one of the most kind, helpful, and gentle king. There was a rumor that even the gods adored this king that he blessed him. Looking at the queen who looked like she spent most of her life glaring made him rethink about the rumor.

The queen, Queen Athena, was said to be wise, strict, and a perfectionist. Anyone who defies her orders or tells her that she's wrong will either get kicked out of the castle (literally) or get locked up in the dungeon. They said that she's not one of those evil queens who can make people cower in fear. She never smiles though which wasn't really hard to believe.

"We're very pleased that you could come, Praetor." The king said "Isn't that right dear?" he added as he turned to his wife. The queen didn't even blink as she stared at Jason with those calculating grey eyes.

"Very," she agreed, though it didn't even looked like she did

"Thank you my lord, my lady. I'm very pleased to be here as well." Jason responded "Though if your majesty wouldn't mind me asking about the special package that I was supposed to deliver from your castle."

King Fredrick laughed, "Yes, we'll talk about it later." He said, his eyes twinkling with amusement, "But I could tell you it's very special indeed. Please, enjoy yourself." He winked at him then left with his wife, who gave Jason one last look of distaste.

Jason wanted to enjoy himself but he knew that it was impossible. No one wants to socialize with a Roman. Greeks and Romans had been enemies for eons. Jason never had any problems with Greeks though. He even admired their culture and fighting style and even gained Greek friends in his travels.

He remembered being ecstatic when the Roman emperor ordered him to bring the special package that could heal the rift between the Greeks and the Romans. The Greeks here thought that he was a bloodthirsty Roman who wants to fight everyone that stands in his way though so of course they avoided him like the plague.

He made his way to the food table and filled his plate with food (he might be a Praetor but he's still a growing boy.) as he turned around to leave, he bumped to something and dropped his plate as he fell on the ground.

Was there a column* there? He honestly couldn't remember.

Then he heard someone groan, he looked up and saw a brown haired girl glaring at her orange stained dress. Jason braced himself for a rant about how her beautiful and expensive dress got stained by a filthy Roman and how he should watch where he's going but instead the girl just said," Are you alright?"

Jason looked up and came face to face with two gorgeous blue eyes.

No… It was actually green or brown…

Her eyes kept on changing color so he wasn't really sure but it was really pretty and also very familiar.

"Ugh… Yeah… Yes, I'm alright." He croaked

She offered him her hand which Jason took gratefully. He stood up and observed the girl's face. She reminded him of a goddess that they worship back at Rome, the goddess of beauty, Venus or as what the Greeks had known as Aphrodite. When the teachers back at home taught him and his comrades the goddess, he had imagined a perfectly beautiful woman. This girl was even more beautiful than his imagination Venus. But most of all he'd seen this face before, back to his first quest, back when he was still new in the legion.

"Jason?" She asked

"Piper?!"

The memories came flooding to his mind. He could finally remember her. Seven years ago, Jason was sent to find a missing prince. He was ten years old and a new recruit of the legion so he didn't really know what to do. He got lost in woods and long story short; he found a cute ten year old girl that was being drifted away to the bottom of a waterfall and managed to save her. That girl was standing right in front of him and she grew up to be very beautiful.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Piper said "It's been so long. You even got taller."

Jason laughed, "It's great to see you too." His eyes wandered to her stained dress, "And ugh… Sorry about your dress."

Piper looked taken back then smiled as she showed him the stained part of her clothes. "You mean this little thing? It's alright. I never liked this dress anyway. Thanks to you I'll just have an excuse to throw away this piece of garbage."

He was about to say something when they heard a shrill voice call Piper which made them both look at the source. A woman at her early twenties, by the looks of it with a long black hair and blue eyes made her way towards them, pushing through the crowd. She grabbed Piper's arm and smiled sweetly at Jason. He thought that the smile was really fake and wouldn't really fool anybody.

"Hi, I'm Silena, Piper's sister and this young lady who just disappeared for no reason is being requested by our father." She said. When Piper didn't move, Silena glared at her, "Now." She said harshly then dragged her sister away.

"I'll see you later Jason. " Piper said

Jason smiled but it immediately faded when Silena tugged on her arm even more. Though they were few yards away, he could hear the older girl yell at her sister. "Talking to a Roman. I never thought you could do something as stupid as that. And what happened to your dress?!"

He ran his hand through his hair as he sighed. There goes his only chance of not being a loner in this feasting. Just as he was about to start another pity party, the king's voice boomed.

"Welcome my fellow Greeks and our very special guest," He started; he gave Jason another wink as he added the last part. "I hope that you've all enjoyed this special festivity and I am sure that you will enjoy this whole week of celebration."

The whole crowd cheered loudly, "The end of the war between Greece and Rome had finally come and a new era will finally begin." At this, everyone was confused and was muttering to each other. The king continued, "The Roman Emperor and I had both agreed to do something that would heal the rift between the Greeks and the Romans, permanently. My daughter and the son of the Emperor will be married on the next full moon and by then, Greece and Rome will be united forever."

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**A/N:Sorry if it's short or if it's boring but I promise the story will pick up it's pace soon. Also as always, sorry for the punctuation, grammar or spelling mistakes that I had made for this chapter **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

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**ANNABETH**

As a princess, Annabeth had completed her duties and made sacrifices for the sake of her people and just when she thought it was enough, she had to make the biggest sacrifice of all. She had to get married to someone she didn't even know.

The worst part was her father didn't even consult her first before agreeing to the engagement. Now she has no choice but to put on a wedding dress and get married to the Roman Emperor's son. If she didn't the Romans would get piss which would result to more bloodshed. Annabeth's conscience wouldn't take that.

So there she was, barely listening to her father announce her engagement while waiting for her cue to join the celebration. The real reason for the celebration was to show the whole kingdom how happy she was about the engagement, to convince people that they should not be afraid.

She didn't even realize that it was her cue to enter until her mother faced her and gave her a look that made most grown men shiver in fear. She went to face the crowd, forcing a huge smile as she spoke, "Thank you all for coming. The gods really showered us with blessings today. I have not only gained a fiancé but for all of us, as a country, we had earned new friends and gained strong allies. Though they were our enemies once, you could assure that they will never be again. Greece and Rome will be united and would forever be in peace. "

The people clapped and cheered like crazy that was what they want, reassurance. Reassurance that they will be safe, that was all that mattered since they didn't even notice how much she flinched and hesitated at the word fiancé.

She began talking to the guests who kept on gushing about her engagement ring that the Emperor's son supposedly had given her but the truth was it was her father who bought it and told her to tell her that it was from her future looked at her father and saw how pleased he was. He gestured for her to come closer and she excuse herself from the guests and went towards her father.

"Your speech was wonderful Annabeth." He said

"Thank you father." She replied

He smiled and snapped his fingers like he always does when he suddenly remember something, "That reminds me. I would like you to meet someone."

Annabeth followed her father as they steered through the crowd. She watched as her father stop in the middle of the room and approached a tall blonde haired man with blue eyes wearing a heavy armor which didn't look like was forged by one of their blacksmiths. He was looking at the people who were dancing merrily and was surprised when her father had caught him off guard.

"Annabeth, I would like you to meet Praetor Jason. He will be escorting you to Rome ." Her father said

Praetor Jason bowed which she didn't acknowledge; instead, she turned to her father, "What is this?" She hissed, "I thought Percy was going to be the one to guide me to Rome."

Percy was her guard and her childhood friend. When they had first met, the two couldn't even stand each other but they eventually learn to get along and after that, they've become inseparable until today since he was sent out to find a fugitive.

King Fredrick hesitated before speaking, "I'm sorry dear but as you know, that sorcerer Alabaster is still on the loose. Perseus is one of our best soldiers I could send to catch him."

Annabeth knew that it wasn't true. There were rumors about her and Percy, rumors about them being together and she knew that her father suspected that those rumors were not rumors at all.

"You sent him into a wild goose chase." She accused

He glared at her as he said, "We will not speak about this in front of our guest." She didn't even move a muscle as he continued to glare at her. She knew that he was challenging her to confirm his suspicions about Percy and if she continued to press the matters, he would do everything to separate them forever.

"Very well," She said. She turned to face the Roman guest "I apologize for my actions Praetor. Are you enjoying yourself?"

Jason didn't meet her eyes as he said, "Yes your majesty." Most of the leaders that Annabeth met would look her in the eye with them beaming with pride but Jason wasn't like that. He strike her as a strong great leader but wasn't as prideful and boastful as the others.

"That's good." She commented. "I would love to stand by and chat but I have other guests that I have to attend." She told the two. They nodded in response and walked away as fast as she could. She didn't want to meet the person who's going to take her away from her home and everyone she loves. She decided to distract herself by talking and dancing with the other guests. It was almost enough to make her forget, until her father had to ruin everything by summoning her.

"Annabeth," He started "Praetor Jason and I had agreed that you and him had to leave Greece and start your journey to Rome tomorrow."

Her eyes widen in shock as she started to protest but her father had to cut him off," You have to understand Annabeth. My agreement with the Emperor was that you have to get married in the next full moon which would be in -"

She didn't even finish, " I understand. I'll go and pack right now." She said as she ran to her room and started crying on her bed. She started cursing her bad luck and wishing that Percy was right next to her.

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**A/N: Sorry for the grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes if there's any. Thank you for reading and please hit the Review button right there and say what you wanna say. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey hey hey! Welcome to Chapter 3 of Crossroads hope you all enjoy it.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. 

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**Jason  
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After the party, King Fredrick and Jason made their way to the Greek's war meeting room. Jason is the first roman to enter that room so of course, he was excited about it but it turns out that there was nothing to be excited about. Unlike the roman Emperor who had a room that had twelve gigantic thrones forming a semi-circle while facing a huge table with a map of the battle area and shinning, marbled soldier figurines, the Greeks had twelve simple chairs, surrounding a long white marble table with the ready to be used map of the whole continent sitting on top of it.

Three men were already waiting for them when they got there. The first one was a man with the same age as him; he had a curly brown hair and pointy ears. He looked up to them with a mischievous smile on his face. The second one was a pale young man who looked a year younger than him. He had dark hair and eyes. Out of all the Greeks Jason had seen, this one seemed to be the most out of place. He didn't seem to look much like a Greek. He also seemed to be in a deep conversation with the third man. The last man looked older, like he was in his early twenties. He had a blonde hair just like Jason's and blue eyes that reminded him to keep an eye on his belongings.

They bowed at the king who in return waved his hand in dismissal. He put a hand on Jason's shoulder as he said, "Gentlemen, I'd like you two meet Praetor Jason from Rome. "

Jason noticed that the blonde man eyed him suspiciously but the king did not, "Praetor, these three men would assist you in your journey. This is Leo, Nico, and Luke." The king said as he gestured each of the person named.

They didn't have time for pleasantries and decided to get to work. They talked about what routes they should take and what to avoid. It would have been easier to cross the sea to get to Rome but with the growing number of pirates these days; they all agreed that it would be safer to go through land. The blonde haired man, Luke, gave him a few more glares here and there but when he looked back, Luke would turn his head back like nothing had happened .When they had finished, Jason was more than happy to leave. It took him weeks to reach Greece and it really made him tired. He really needs to get to rest especially if they were going to leave tomorrow morning. The three soldiers had already left the room and Jason was about to follow when the king suddenly asked him to stay

"You have something to say, sire?" Jason asked as King Fredrick closed the wooden doors.

"Yes, it's about my daughter, Annabeth." He answered straightforward

Annabeth.

Jason didn't know what to think of that girl. He heard that the princess was as kind and gentle as her father and was as intelligent and beautiful as her mother but when he first laid eyes on her, he was absolutely terrified. There was something about her that told him to run for his life. Maybe it was that intimidating gray eyes that she got from her mother.

She also didn't look like the typical princess that needs to be guarded from any danger. Jason could tell that she could take care of herself in case something terrible had befallen over them. He didn't like the stubborn attitude that she has though.

"What about her, sir?" He responded.

The king turned his back on Jason and faced a huge window that showed the whole kingdom, "Annabeth is a mature and intelligent girl, just like any princess should be but I'm afraid that she's not ready for this responsibility."

"I believe that she wants to choose who she marries sir, like any normal person could, but why would you tell me this?" Jason asked

"Because Annabeth is a human being, she makes mistakes like you and I and I want to make sure that she doesn't create a mess huge enough to endanger the whole Greece." The king turned to him and looked directly to Jason's eyes "Could I trust you to keep an eye on her?"

Jason could tell that he wants him to keep an eye on her because he's worried. It was more than dangerous outside the safety walls of their castle and the king wouldn't be there to protect his only daughter.

"Of course sir," He said "That is my job."

The king nodded, his shoulders dropped like he was really relived with Jason's answer. "That's good. You are dismissed; a maid would be waiting outside to lead you to your room for the night."

Jason bow and left the room.

The long hallway had so many rooms that Jason didn't know which way was his room. It also didn't help that his only light source was a few lit torches that were hanged on the walls. Good thing that there would be a maid to guide him.

Speaking of the maid, she wasn't there yet. Jason waited patiently; he decided that he should just wait for that maid than walking around himself. He didn't want to get lost in this labyrinth. He started to notice how quiet it was when a voice made him jump.

"Pretty awesome place, huh?"

He turned around and saw the same mischievous curly brown haired guy that was with him in the meeting. Leo was leaning on the wall next to him, his arms were crossed and he was smirking like an amused hyena. How long was he there and why didn't Jason noticed him? He didn't know.

"Uh…Yeah." Jason said.

Leo put his arm around Jason's shoulder and started steering him away, "I told the maid that I would be the one to show you to your room since she looked exhausted and all." He said "So your name is Jason. That's cool. I've read a story about a guy named Jason. He was really cool and you're a Roman! Wow! That's great! I've always thought of Romans as hostile and blood seeking cannibals but you don't look like one. Maybe we could actually be best friends, I could tell you jokes. They're actually funny…."

Jason didn't say anything and let him talk for a while but he concluded that Leo wasn't a bad person. He was like a kid who ate too much sugar but not bad. The two of them stopped at the door by the end of the hall.

"So this is our stop," Leo said "My room is just next door so if you need me, you could just knock on the door as loud as you could."

Jason nodded, "Thanks, I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He said as he went in his room. The last thing he saw before he closed the door was Leo giving him a salute in a joking manner.

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**A/N: Thank you guys for reading. I hope you don't mind my spelling or grammar mistakes. If you have any suggestions or complaints, I would appreciate it if you would tell me in a non- offending way. Please Review!**

~BWsquidoo:) 


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

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**Annabeth**

For Annabeth, leaving her hometown was like being in a nightmare where you suddenly realize that you could never wake up from it.

Everyone was outside the main gate, saying good-bye to Annabeth. Her mother was hugging her too tight while her father was talking with her four companions. She heard her mother sighed as she pulled away from her.

"I just wish that you don't have to go through this fate." Her mother said, "But we need you to do this Annabeth. Greece can't handle any more wars. We'll get crushed."

Annabeth gave her a small smile, just to stop her mother from worrying, "It's alright mother. I know my duties."

Her mother nodded, "You've grown to be a wise and beautiful young lady, my daughter and I hope you'd use your wisdom at Rome. The Romans are as sly as a fox; you could not trust them, not even your future husband." She snorted before continuing, "Future husband... _Pah!_ You could have done better. I would even prefer if you married that idiot bodyguard of yours, Perseus."

"Mother…." Annabeth groaned but the fact that her strict mother preferred Percy than the Roman Emperor's son made her happy.

"Annabeth, it's time to leave," her father called out behind her. She gave her mother one last hug then  
she approached her father who was next to the man holding her horse. Her father held her shoulder.

"I hope you have a safe trip," He said "Your mother and I will follow in a few days. We just need to finish… some things."

The way her father hesitated made her want to ask but she knew that he won't give her any answers. Adults have a way of thinking that always make her want to hit her head on the wall plus she didn't want to start an argument before leaving.

"Of course father," She said as she started to climb on her horse. "I will see you at Rome."

She made eye contact with the four men who would accompany her, "Let's go," she told them.

They nodded as they ordered their horses to go. Annabeth could hear the people yelling good-bye along with the _clop-clop_ of the horse's shoes. She tried hard not to look back, not to look at her nightmare that was starting to become a reality.

The first day of their journey was actually quiet. No one bothered to say a word except when someone suggested to rest, to eat, or to do their business. Even Leo who was known in their kingdom to be talkative and energetic seemed so drained. Annabeth wasn't sure if she was the reason why they were so quiet. They probably thought that she was snobbish since she was a princess but Luke, Leo, and Nico knew her since they were children. They knew that she wasn't like that. They were probably cautious with the Roman who was with them at that moment.

Annabeth knew that Jason wasn't a threat. At least, he didn't look like a threat to her but if he did something suspicious, he's going down. But so far, he seemed harmless and she did want information about Rome and her future husband. Just saying that in her head made her sick.

She sat down next to him at dinner. Leo was cooking their food while Luke and Nico were sitting in front of the campfire with Jason and herself. Jason was sitting quietly as he ate his dinner. Annabeth didn't know what to do. She was locked up in their castle for years that she didn't even know how to socialize with people.

"So…What's Rome like? "

The words flow from her mouth before she could even think. The whole camp stared at them, specifically, at Jason. With his high position and Roman blood, she expected him to stand up with confidence and pride shining in his eyes while he described the complicated architecture of his hometown. She did not expect him to blush under their gazes while stuttering.

"It's … it's okay… I guess."

"Oh…" Annabeth replied. She could practically hear Leo snickering while handing Nico a piece of cooked meat. She almost told him off but suddenly thought of a question that immediately sprang out of her mouth, "What about the emperor's son? What's he like? I heard that he was charming."

The last part was a lie though, but she was hoping that there would be a slip up from the Praetor.

Jason started chocking on his food but managed to say, "You could say that."

"I know you're lying."

"No, I'm not."

"You're doing it again."

They started exchanging banters like two kids fighting over a toy. Annabeth was usually a matured, young adult but she really needed that information and she was going to get it, one way or another. She wasn't going to stand in front of an altar with a total stranger.  
"Come on, Jason! I'm supposed to marry this person and I don't even know his name."

Jason sighed in defeat as he raised his hands, "Alright. Jeez...You're really stubborn. "he said "The Emperor only has one son and some say that this son of his is a descendant of Apollo. He was named after the first emperor, _Imperator Gaius Julius Divi Filius Caesar Octavianus Augustus, _or as we like to call him, Octavian."

"Octavian," Leo suddenly snorted, "What a noble name."

Annabeth wondered if Jason noticed Leo's sarcasm or not, but he didn't let on and continued, "Noble name for a man who isn't. " He growled "He's scrawny, manipulative, selfish, unfair, and sinister."

She suddenly feels queasy and uninterested to know more about his future husband, Octavian.

"So he has all the qualities that Annabeth wants in a guy." Luke joked and started laughing, Leo laughed along while Nico cracked a smile. Annabeth couldn't help but let out a small smirk, "Be careful Luke or else you'll get to know the qualities that I want with my knife."

Luke shook his head, knowing that her threat wasn't really a threat. He took care of her before Percy arrived.

He laughed, "Sure I will princess, but first you need to go to sleep." He stopped as he looked at his other companions, "All of you. We've got a big day tomorrow."

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**A/N: That's it for now. I'll try to post again on Saturday. Thank you for Reading and please Review! Have a nice day**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi guys! Since you're reading chapter 5 , you didn't get bored to death with my story. Yay! I would like to thank you all for reading this story since I'm not even confident with sharing it. My first thought when I wrote this is that I'm okay with not having any viewers, favorites, follows, or reviews. I would be okay with just writing and contributing to our fandom. Atleast I tried,right? (~liiiaaarr!)**

I didn't expect someone to like this and you guys are here so thank you. I would also like to thank those who reviewed this **story.**

**Sora loves Rain- Thank you very much! Yeah, I enjoyed torturing Annabeth like that even though she's one of my favorite characters. Something's wrong with me**

atlantical- Thanks. I didn't even plan to include them. I just thought, "Oooohh more characters, more deaths, more deaths, more fun!". Just kidding but their addition wasn't planned though. 

**vixen1994- Sorry! But if it was Percy, it would be too obvious. Don't worry though, I will avenge the panda bear pillow pet (R.I.P, literally)**

Robyn Flynn- Thank you :D

MistressBlack523- Thanks. I hope this will progress though. I'm not exactly Ms. Industrious. 

**Wishsight- Thank you for pointing that out... Gods... I need a beta... hahaha..and I'm trying to keep the characters human but if it fits the plot, why not? Although, there's Alabaster. Maybe I'll make him a demigod. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians **

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**Jason**

Have you ever spoke of something that you weren't supposed to but then it suddenly came out of your mouth?

That's what happened with Jason when he told them about Octavian. Everything he said about the Emperor's son was true but it doesn't mean he's allowed to say it. But when Annabeth said that he heard that Octavian was charming, he couldn't help himself. He thought of the times when he first came to the legion. It was the exact time the royal pain decided that he wanted to train at the exact same place.

The memories were still fresh in Jason's mind. He worked hard on every position he had achieved, from a simple soldier, he became a Centurion then eventually, a Praetor. Meanwhile, Octavian earned his by asking his father or blackmailing. The Emperor's son had tried many ways to get Jason to step down from his positions but Jason managed not to yield. He had never told anyone else since everyone in Rome thought that he was "charming." Everyone eventually learned Octavian's true colors but they couldn't do anything about it. He was still the Emperor's son.

It was a good thing that one of Octavian's habits didn't slip out of his mouth though. Octavian had that weird habit of killing wild animals, taking out its entrails, and observing them like a scroll with a good story. Annabeth didn't need to be terrified of his future husband and Jason didn't need to be responsible of ruining the thin line of friendship between Rome and Greece.

Jason had watch duty after Nico who just looked at him with a bit of sympathy before going to sleep himself. The five of them started to move as soon as the sun was shining brightly in the sky. They were having a smooth journey when they happened to stop in front a long wooden bridge that looks ready to break.

Since he was the one who's leading, he checked to see how deep it was below. His eyes narrowing as he started pulling on his horse's reins for it to turn around. A wrong step could be the end of them all and he didn't want to take that kind of risk.

"It's too dangerous. We have to turn back and go another way, "He told his companions, "But it will take us six more hours to get us back on track."

They all nodded without complaint and just as they were about to leave, an arrow landed next to Annabeth's horse which made it panic and threw her off before she could do anything about it. Luckily, Annabeth had landed on her rear.

She groaned in pain as she stood up," I must have angered a god to be cursed like this." She muttered as she brushed the dirt off her clothes.

The other horses started to panic too but they managed to hold on and calmed them, except for Leo who got thrown to a bush. He raised his hand and showed them his thumb, "I'm alright!" He yelled

Jason, Luke and Nico draw their swords, ready to fight whoever shot them while Leo hurried to Annabeth's side and took out a weapon that looked like a huge hammer. With Leo's scrawny body, Jason wasn't sure how he could lift it.

Luke must have noticed his expression and grinned, "Leo was originally a blacksmith but when the war with your people started, he was forced to become a soldier. He was terrible at every weapon but we eventually found out that he could fight well with that hammer." He explained

Jason wondered why Luke was suddenly so nice after his glaring session yesterday but kept his eyes on the targeted direction, looking at Annabeth's direction every other second.

"I could handle myself Leo," He heard her whispered harshly, "You don't need to protect me."

"If I don't need to protect you, then I wouldn't be here." Leo replied cheekily, "And you're supposed to be the smart one, your highness."

Annabeth growled softly while Luke turned his head on their direction, "Will you two be quiet! You'll get us all killed."

All of them turned their heads on the direction of a nearby bush that rustled. Jason could practically hear his heart pounding in his chest. It usually happens when he anticipates a fight. The bushed moved again. Jason didn't know what to expect. Was it an assassin sent to sabotage the treaty between the Greeks and Romans? Or was it a group of bandits hoping to rob them of their possessions?

Suddenly a giant black dog jumped out which surprised all of them. It barked while wagging its tail happily as it passed by a confused Leo and went to a fazed Annabeth. She was even more surprised when it jumped on her and started licking her face. She started laughing she told it to calm down.

"Hi girl, what are you doing here?" Jason heard her mutter to the dog.

Luke and Nico lowered their swords and relax but Jason didn't. He didn't understand what was going on and still didn't think it was safe.

"Hey look, it's Mrs. O'Leary!" Leo exclaimed.

At the sound of its name, its head shot up and went to Leo, leaving Annabeth with a thoughtful expression on her face. He sheathed his sword and concluded that since the dog didn't cause them any harm, maybe it was safe. Though there was still the arrow on the ground a few feet from them so he didn't lowered his guard.

"Mrs. O'Leary?" Jason said "What an odd name."

"Mrs. O'Leary's an inheritance to Annabeth's guard." Nico explained to Jason "She's from a foreign country and the former owner who just died was…strange. "

"More like crazy," Luke snorted "I wonder how she got here though."

Jason heard another faint sound. He could hear two people arguing. It didn't sound like it came from very far. The others seemed to notice the noise too because they started to become quiet and listen along with him. Annabeth's eyes widen as she said, "It can't be." and bolted off before anyone could stop her.

"Annabeth!" Jason called out but it was too late. She could be running towards the people who drew the arrow. For a level headed lady, that wasn't a sensible thing to do. He turned to the others," Stay here. I'll go get her." He said and ran after the princess before anyone could protest.

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**A/N: So that's it for today. My Christmas break will start on Tuesday so I'll just post the next one on that day. Please Review, Favorite, and Follow. Thank you!  
**

**~BWsquidoo (who just realized that the A/N above was full of thanks. I bet you're tired of hearing that word now.) **


	6. Chapter 6

**I know I said I'd post on Tuesday but I barely had time to rest, much less write a story. My mom and I had been waking up at 2 am to go to an early morning mass since Monday then I had to go to school and by the time I get home, I get too exhausted to fight for my computer rights. But I doubt you're interested with my life. I just told you this since I know you have the right to 's Chapter 6 and if it's any consolation, I wasted my whole day writing this... I hope you like it, I didn't get to edit though. I'm in a hurry after all.**

**Robyn Flynn: Thank you. Sorry if it was delayed though.**

**Bookworm5599: Hahaha... Patience grasshopper. Sorry for the delay. Here's chapter 6. Merry Christmas to you too!**

**atlantical: Good . It's kinda sad but authors have a good laugh over it. I don't know why fan tears amuses them though.**

**Sora loves Rain: If your guess is the Doctor then you're right. Just kidding. **

**JacksonGraceKane: Thank you... Really thank you. Are you sure I got the personalities right? I was really careful about that part since handling a lot of characters and different personalities is really tough and I'm really having a hard time when it comes to that. Yeah... I sure hope his entrance is okay though.**

**Disclaimer****: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians**

* * *

**Annabeth**

Finding the voices were easier than Annabeth had thought. She found them immediately by only following the noises they were making. She was clearly sure of her path and knew that there were only two of them since she could only hear two voices. They weren't even that far but it was hard to see them clearly since they were on top of a tree with a bunch of branches covering their faces, their lower bodies were the only ones visible but Annabeth could still recognize them anywhere, she did grew up with them.

One of them was thrashing through the branches which were probably the rustling sounds she and the others heard earlier, "Stupid branches," the first voice said. The voice sounded like an angry woman, she started growling as the branches kept on moving furiously and leaves were falling. "I can't see a thing."

"Will you stop that?" The other one replied in irritation. The voice definitely sounded like a male and Annabeth couldn't help but smile at hearing that voice. She hadn't heard that for a long time and thought that it was really nice to hear it again. "It's bad enough that you gave away our position with that stupid arrow." He added

"We wouldn't need that stupid arrow if you had let me charge him with a spear!" The first voice argued.

The other snorted, "You and your spear against Alabaster and his magic. You wouldn't last two seconds."

"Better than being in this tree like cowards."

"Just shut up and do your job, Clarisse."

"Whatever Prissy…"

Annabeth tried not to laugh at their conversation, even when they're on duty they still argue like little kids. She cleared her throat so they could notice her presence, "You two make more noise than a love sick Minotaur,*****" She told them

She saw the branches opening up a bit where two pair of eyes were watching her.

"Annabeth?" They chorused

Annabeth rolled her eyes, "Yes… Will you come down here before you make yourselves look even more stupid than you do now?"

It took them a minute to get down. Annabeth stared at them; well she was mostly staring at the messy black haired, green eyed boy who smiled and ran towards her as soon as he got down. Before she could do anything, he wrapped his arms around his waist, lifted her up and spun her around. She couldn't help but laugh at what seemed to be her first laugh for a long time. She laughed whole heartedly at his enthusiasm, the joy she haven't experienced for a long time. She didn't even reacted when she heard Clarisse groan and make gagging noises behind them.

Finally, he put her down and kissed her long enough to make her dizzy with happiness. Clarisse cleared her throat loudly which made them pull away, much to Annabeth's disappointment. Percy just held her hands and she watched as his smile turned into a confused frown.

"Annabeth," he started "Not that I'm not happy to see you. But what are you doing here? "

The question took her back to reality. Percy didn't know that she was traveling to Rome and that she was supposed to be married to the Roman Emperor's son. She didn't think that she could tell him, she didn't want to tell him, and she was going to hide it. But for how long, she didn't really know.

"I-I'm- ugh…"She stuttered for a moment, thinking of a lie to tell him. Thinking of a perfect one, she finally said, "Father was supposed to go to Rome for a meeting of truce that the Romans have called for but he had a lot of duties he had to attend to and couldn't come so he sent me instead."

Percy opened his mouth to say something but Clarisse intervened, "Meeting of truce. _Ha!_ The Romans really are cowards." She said

Percy glared at the brown-haired girl then smiled at Annabeth, "That's great Annabeth, it sounds like your father already trusts you enough to. Congratulations!"

Annabeth could feel the guilt eating her up as she laughed nervously. He looked at her curiously and was about to ask something, fortunately, he got interrupted. Annabeth couldn't stand lying through her teeth especially if she had to do it to Percy. Unfortunately, it was Jason who interrupted him. Jason, who could reveal her lies in a flash.

"Annabeth!" Jason yelled as he ran towards them, his sword drawn. He glared at Percy who stood in front of Annabeth, he spread out one of his hands in a blocking motion which Annabeth didn't appreciate but she knew that Percy didn't really care and just like protecting his loved ones from danger and drew his bronze sword that he named Anaklusmos or was sometimes called Riptide with his other hand. Clarisse drew her spear and grinned wickedly. They were all ready to charge and were about to fight each other but Annabeth managed to stop them before they do.

"Stop!" She yelled. They froze in their spot. Annabeth looked at Jason, "Lower your sword Jason."

Jason looked at her in outrage, "But-"

"You too." Annabeth told Percy and Clarisse. Percy lowered his in hesitation but he knew her long enough to know that you shouldn't defy Annabeth's orders unless you want to die. Clarisse lowered hers while grumbling "Kill joy." or something under her breath. Jason didn't lower his; Annabeth gave him a warning look. She remembered Percy telling her when they were kids that her stormy gray eyes made her glare twice as intimidating and scary than normal. She hoped that Jason would be intimidated enough to follow her.

To her surprise, the Praetor of Rome lowered her golden sword but didn't drop his glare at Annabeth's friends. "It's alright," She told him.

Annabeth introduced Percy and Clarisse to Jason and vice versa then explained to him why she ran off without telling anybody but didn't tell him about her relationship with Percy. In her defense, it was her business and her own private affairs. Jason has no right to hear it and she didn't think he would be interested.

When she had finished, Jason sighed and ran his fingers through his blonde hair, "I wish you would've told us first. We could've escorted you here."

"Sorry," Annabeth apologized "But I as I told Leo, I can protect myself. I'm not as helpless as you think I am."

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Percy curling his mouth a little bit while Clarisse muttered, "Sexist little brat."

"We've been gone for a while," Annabeth said, "Those three are not as patient as they look like. They've probably set up camp by now."

"Maybe you could take your friends with you." Jason told her "We have their dog after all."

"You have Mrs. O' Leary?" Percy asked

Jason smiled a bit, "And your arrow that almost killed us too."

Luke, Nico, and Leo didn't look very surprised when they came back with Percy and Clarisse but they didn't look as excited as Mrs. O'Leary was who jumped at Percy and licked his face. When Percy got up, Luke and Nico greeted him while Leo went up to Clarisse and started flirting with her. He got a big mark from where she punched him.

"Did you just try and flirt with Clarisse?" Annabeth asked Leo incredulously while trying hard not to laugh at the black eye he got.

"I'm a very lonely and very desperate man." He answered.

Everyone laughed as they huddled around and started eating lunch. Percy and Clarisse told them how they met Alabaster the rumored warlock who betrayed Greece. They told them how Alabaster tricked them, how he almost killed them, about the people that they have met, and how they got through their mission without killing each other in the process. They also told them about how they got the news of Alabaster going to a nearby town and how they waited on the tree where Annabeth had found them. They were trying to ambush him by shooting an arrow through his head but Clarisse grew impatient and started shooting randomly.

"Wait, The king only sent the two of you?" Jason asked in amazement,

"They have Mrs. O'Leary." Leo interrupted

Jason ignored him and continued,"With a powerful man like that, shouldn't the king send for more people?"

"We don't already have enough men to join the war with your people much less an impossible hunt for a warlock." Percy said "But if this meeting of truce that Annabeth was supposed to attend to succeeds, the king might just add more men."

Everyone, except for Clarisse, froze for a moment and stared at him then at Annabeth who looked very guilty at that moment. Leo started choking on his food and asked, "Meeting of truce? What in Hades is-_Ouch!_ "

Annabeth had thrown her spoon at Leo's head to keep him from talking then bowed her head down as she saw the others staring at her. Luke shook his head in disappointment though he still had a small smile on his face which told her that he was amused with them. Nico just stared at her blankly then turned his attention back to his food. Jason looked at her with his eyebrow raised, and Clarisse laughed like she was clearly catching on. Only Percy was oblivious to what was happening since his attention was with Mrs. O'Leary who started bumping her head on him, asking for food.

"Yes, I think father was thinking about that." Annabeth said "He said that we can't keep a dangerous like him running around."

Percy smiled triumphantly and started feeding Mrs. O'Leary. While Annabeth turned to the others and mouthed_, "Later. Shut up or I will skin you all alive." _

They all turned back to their food and did what she said.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the grammar and spelling you for reading I'll update as soon as I could. I hope you'll like it. If you did please leave a Review and it would surely help me. Thank you!Advance Merry Christmas everyone!**

***- That line was from The Bronze Dragon chapter in the Demigod Files. **


	7. Chapter 7

**For everyone who had read, Favorited , Followed, and reviewed this story. Thank you so much.I really really appreciate it. You guys don't know how grateful  
**

**Sora loves Rain: Thank you :D . Merry Merry Merry Early Christmas!**

**atlantical: Only a bit :)) . Thank you. But we'll never know if he really was oblivious to what was really happening. It was in Annabeth's point of view after all. Not Percy's ;D**

**Bookworm5599: Oh my gods... I've been a fangirl since 2010 and freaked out some people too. I once fangirl at the release day of the Demigod Diaries. I was in school and my teacher asked us to copy something while she discussed, and since I always write the date on my notebook when copying and I didn't know what was the date that day, I asked my seatmate and when she told me I realized that that day was the release date of the Demigod diaries and I started screaming and fangirling and everyone was staring at me like I've gone crazy.**

**aquachick521(Chapter1): Hi! Thank you very much :D**

**Just Anny: Boys are always oblivious. Just kidding. Thank you.. I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the others.**

**Robyn Flynn: Thank you. No. It was just because Leo wasn't really a hard target...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. **

* * *

**Jason**

Jason didn't know why Annabeth was acting so strange. All he knows was that she started acting like that ever since Percy joined them.

_Percy._

He didn't know what to make of him. He'd struck him as an arrogant trouble maker who doesn't follow the rules, who doesn't follow orders, who constantly fights with others just because he liked it, the kind of person who wouldn't last a day in their legion (unless they're Octavian)but the way he treated everyone equally and as if they were his friends made Jason think two of them had a lot of chance to talk with each other while everyone was packing up and getting ready to leave again. Jason immediately thought of him as a great person, a dedicated soldier, and a good friend even though he was sarcastic. They were laughing at Leo who was fighting with Mrs. O'Leary over a sausage when his eyes started to wander to Annabeth and Clarisse who looked like they were talking and disagreeing.

Like there Annabeth wasn't enough to make the trip feel terrifying and awkward, Clarisse had to join their party. Clarisse could be easily mistaken as a man if she cut her long stringy brown hair off. With that muscled in a man's way body of hers it was possible. She was facing him while Annabeth's back was turned to him. Jason wished it was the other way around. He could feel her detest towards him and he wasn't really interested with entertaining her anger.

He immediately looked away when Clarisse's scary, glaring, brown eyes landed on him. Jason was glad that she was only there temporarily; she and Percy were going to continue their mission once Jason and the others left. Before he could tell if she saw him staring or not, Luke called him to report that they were all packed up and ready to leave.

You could almost imagine Jason jumping with joy when he heard that.

They were ready to say good-bye to their two friends. Clarisse was expressionless as they said their good-byes. Percy's expression was even more unreadable, Jason had even thought that he turned into a statue when Annabeth had hugged him tightly, kissed his cheek and didn't even respond. Each of them got on their horses. Annabeth had to ride with Nico since her horse ran away.

With an order from each of their riders, the horses started to walk. They weren't even that far when Percy called them out. He started running towards them with his dog bounding behind. The four of them turned their horses around and stopped. Luke stared at the running Percy and had a look of disbelief on his face.

"What in the name of Zeus is that boy doing now?" He muttered loudly

"Wait stop!" Percy yelled as he waved his arms and stopped running when he got to where they were.

Annabeth got off her horse and went towards him, "Percy, what's wrong?"

"I'm coming with you." Percy panted

Taken aback by what he said, Annabeth screeched which made everyone jump, "What?"

"I said, I'm coming with you." Percy repeated, "I always wanted to see Rome and I think this is my best opportunity. Besides I get to be with you."

Jason could tell that he was lying; there was more to it that wanting to see Rome or being with Annabeth. The others were looking at the two of them like they were watching some sort of game and they were waiting to see who loses.

"No, absolutely not." Annabeth snapped

"Why not?" Percy asked with a mock hurt tone

"Because father already gave you your job." She replied

"Clarisse can do it, she'll be happy to do it on her own. I'm coming with you." He said with a stern voice.

"No, you're not coming and that is final!"

* * *

"Nice of you to join us Perce." Jason heard Leo mutter to a smug Percy who grinned at him in return.

Percy was riding his black stallion which he used when he was on his mission and now he was using it as his ride to Rome. He had somehow managed to let him come with them. Clarisse was more than happy to continue their mission on their own, without "Prissy" on her way as she had said.

Annabeth was in front of them, still on Nico's horse, looking a bit miffed at Percy. She was silent but would occasionally send Percy a glare which immediately made Leo stayed at least ten feet away from him, claiming that the princess scared him more than a rabid wild animal. Jason couldn't blame him for thinking that though.

He was still curious about Annabeth's conversation with Clarisse; no doubt it was about him or Romans. He knew that she didn't trust him and probably told Annabeth that going to Rome would be a mistake. Deciding that he should talk to her about it, he waited until it was time to set their camp and rest. If Clarisse was making Annabeth doubt Rome's offer of friendship then he'd want to set the whole issue straight.

Percy, Leo, Luke and Mrs. O'Leary went looking for firewood and meat to hunt that dusk, leaving Jason alone with Annabeth and Nico who were waiting for them to come back so they could start cooking the food. Jason waited for the perfect opportunity to talk to Annabeth and was glad when Nico fell asleep. He immediately approached Annabeth who was petting one of the horses that was grazing. She looked up and smiled slightly at him then turned her attention back to the horse.

"Hello Jason," She greeted "Do you need anything?"

Jason could suddenly feel the awkwardness of his question and put his hand on the back of his head and started scratching it, "I just wanted to ask you about your conversation with Clarisse earlier."

She looked up to him with her eyebrow raised, "You're wondering if she was opposing the plan. Telling me that you can't trust be trusted, that you'll just betray us, that you're leading us into a trap."

He nodded uncomfortably and she smiled again, "I had to admit Jason, I didn't know that you could be straightforward. Most people wouldn't ask and just wait for someone to tell them. That would be a polite way but I have more respect to people who would try to find answers even if there's a possibility that it won't be given to them."

Jason kept silent and waited, "To answer your question, yes, Clarisse did say that, she's convinced that you're leading us to death. " She took a deep breath and looked at Jason straight in his eyes, "You can't hold it against her Jason. If you were in her position, wouldn't you get suspicious? After years of hostility your enemies just offered you a truce."

"I guess I would react the same way. " Jason admitted. She smiled in return but quickly frowned again as if she remembered something unpleasant.

"I told her about the arranged marriage with the Emperor's son by the way," She said miserably, "She told me that it was a stupid decision and I'm just going to hurt Percy. Not that she cares about him though," She added the last part with a snort in disbelief.

"You're in a relationship with him, are you?" Jason said, she smiled weakly in response, "Isn't it obvious?"

"Well yes..." He admitted

"Jason?"

"Yeah?"

"It's really important if you don't tell him what's going on," She said "If anyone has a right to tell him. It's me. "

Jason nodded, "You better tell him before you get to Rome."

Annabeth didn't respond, she looked around and said, "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" he asked. He listened to his surroundings and heard footsteps which didn't sound like they belong to anyone they know, it didn't even sound like it was Mrs. O'Leary.

He drew his sword, "Wake Nico up, I'll go and check on this,"

The princess didn't look pleased but she nodded and ran to Nico who stirred grudgingly. Jason started to follow the noise, barely noticing the sword that nearly cut his head. It was just his luck that he had enough time to dodge the blow before it killed him.

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**A/N: I apologize for the spelling and grammar mistakes. Please Follow, Favorite and Review. I'll see you guys in my next post. **


	8. Chapter 8

**I feel like I only wrote this chapter for a few revelations,explanations, and as a bridge for the plot. I'm going to apologize early for Alabaster's OOCness since I haven't really needed a psycho avenger for this chapter and his history does fit him for the role.**

**Sora loves Rain:**Me too! Me too! Oh wait.. pfft. I wrote this thing, I know what happens and you will too once you've scroll down a bit ;) . Hope you like this chapter.

**The Blue Warrior (guest):** Thank you! Piper? She'll show up soon. Like real real real soon. Just not today

**Robyn Flynn: **Hahaha... Thank you!... To answer your question, You know that time when you didn't go to school and suddenly Oprah happened to came by that same school you go to and since you're absent and you didn't open your facebook or twitter account where everyone in your school was talking about it so you didn't know what happened until you got to school the next day and learned it from a fellow classmate? That is what Percy's going through right now. No one knew about Annabeth's engagement except Annabeth and her family until the day it was announced and Percy wasn't there,he was out in the woods, looking for Alabaster so even if everyone talked about it, he wouldn't get to hear it. Hope I cleared it up for you.

**Tratieluver14:** Interesting name... I ship Tratie too. Anyway, Thanks! And Piper is going to show herself later.

**Goddess of Idiots:** I know right? Poor Percy. What kind of writer would be cruel enough to do that to their characters? **_(Rick Riordan, J.K Rowling, Suzanne Collins, Veronica Roth, John Green.)_** Anyway, Thanks! Hope you like this chapter. I like your name by the way. Did you know that there's a god of idiots named Azathoth? I didn't

**KatieElizabethGrace:** Like, Oh my gods. That's a terrible problem of mine. I am so sorry. I know that the description of the place wasn't very accurate but I have never seen Ancient Greece or Greece for that matter and I don't know what would be the basis of the description and it feels wrong when I make it up. Don't worry, I'll try really hard to describe it properly. Gracias, Senorita. :D

**Discalimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus**

* * *

**Annabeth**

Annabeth actually thought that Jason running off on his own was stupid but she did the same thing earlier so she had no right to talk.

Waking Nico up was as impossible as carrying the entire ocean with your own hands but she managed to do it after a minute of shaking and yelling. As soon as he woke up, the two of them ran to follow Jason's trail. They ran as fast as they could until they found him standing face to face, swords crossed with a tall man with brown hair.

Annabeth noticed that instead of a normal chiton like them, he was wearing one with runes all over them. She didn't know why he had those; all she knew was that he was going to kill her guide and she had to stop him. He hasn't seen them yet so they have the upper hand.

Annabeth's mind was working overtime, she was thinking of a million plans to save Jason but before she could voice them out to Nico, the boy twisted his sword sending Jason's sword a few feet to the ground then the boy kicked his chest and the Roman ousted to the ground, landing with a very loud thump.

The boy started chuckling as he shook his head disappointedly. Nico started tugging on Annabeth's arm, gesturing for them to hide before he sees them. They would be in no use for Jason if they couldn't think of a way to save them first. He pointed on the nearby bush and she nodded before giving Jason a worried glance but before they could leave, the boy turned his head and pointed his Imperial Gold sword to their direction

"I wouldn't even bother if I were you," He told them.

He had a brown hair and green eyes with bags underneath them like he hadn't been sleeping for a long time although Annabeth could tell that he didn't mind and was still very wide awake. She could also tell that he had the same age as them and that he was possibly out of his mind.

Annabeth and Nico froze on their spot and watch as the boy approached them with his gold blade, swinging it slightly as he started circling around them.

"I was just planning to rob his possessions and leave," He said "Then I found out that he's a Roman," He spat out the word _Roman_ like it was the most disgusting thing in the world. "So I figured that I should rob his life too."

They kept silent, not wanting to say something that could trigger the possibility of making things worse for them. He held out his sword like a kid bragging a toy in front of his friends,

"You see this sword? A Roman gave it to me right after I stuck my knife in his stomach." He told them as he stopped right in front of Annabeth and smiled, his eyes shifted on the small crown on her head.

"Well, well, well, "He laughed, "I knew you were familiar, your majesty," he gave her a mocking bow as he said _"your majesty"_ in a teasing way.

"Who are you?" Annabeth asked. She wanted to delay him from killing anyone until Percy and the others came but with Jason's injury that was in desperate need of mending, she hoped that it wouldn't take long for them to come. "What do you want?"

He looked at her in disbelief, "I'm surprised you wouldn't know."

Next to her, Nico rolled his eyes and muttered, "Looks like we have a new celebrity,"

"I might as well introduce myself," The odd boy said "I am Alabaster and what I want is revenge."

"Alabaster," Annabeth repeated, "You're the-"

"Aye," Alabaster cut off "The escaped sorcerer convict."

"My father gave you a place in our kingdom despite of you being dangerous and you repaid him by trying to kill my mother in her sleep,"

"Come on Percy, Where are you?" Annabeth thought.

She could already hear Jason groaning in pain from a few feet and feel herself growing impatient. She knew she could take fighting Alabaster, especially with Nico by her side but if he's really a sorcerer as he and anyone had said, he could easily defeat them with magic. Annabeth couldn't take that chance but she couldn't help but feel tempted to punch his nose.

Alabaster started laughing, "It's true that I owe your father, your mother deserves to be killed. Everyone in that stupid council deserves to be killed."

Annabeth knew that he was talking about the council that ruled Greece. It was true enough that her father was the one who was facing the people, who was known as the ruler of their country, and was secretly a puppet of the Council of Twelve. The Council is the one who makes all the decisions, her father only makes the suggestions and her mother is included in that council. In fact, she was the reason why Annabeth's father became a king.

She didn't know what made Alabaster hate the Council so badly that he wanted to kill every single one of them.

"The Council voted for my mother and I to be executed because of the rumors that we could do magic and we're dangerous," Alabaster told them,

"I was there when they all voted for our execution but the king intervened. He told them that they shouldn't kill people, especially a child based on rumors but they resisted until he threatened to step down his position that would cause chaos and struggle for power so they made a compromise.

My mother was banished to the land of the outcasts and I was kept watch in Greece as they plan to use me as their secret weapon,"

Next to her, Nico's fists were clenching. He was judged by the Council because of his parentage too. Nico was a product of a relationship between a Greek and a Roman. Since the Romans were the enemies of the Greeks, Nico and his sister were supposed to be executed but the king interfered again. Nico and his sister got separated and eventually his sister died. He went through a phase and held a grudge against the Council for a while but eventually stopped, thanks to Percy who helped him.

They both went through the same thing, but Nico never had any killing frenzy.

"Did you ever think that killing is not the answer?" Nico cried out "No mother would want their child to be a murderer."

"You're wrong, "Alabaster snapped "Before my mother got banished, she demanded vengeance. She told me to kill them all using the thing they feared the most."

Before anyone could respond to his revelation, Annabeth heard voices echoing. She recognized it as Luke, Leo, and Percy calling for their names. A few feet away from her, Jason was also calling out for a name, a name that all men loved, Food. Despite the situation, Annabeth couldn't help but roll her eyes on that but couldn't really blame him; he did have to go through these things with an empty stomach.

Alabaster cursed and muttered something that Annabeth didn't understand and before she could apprehend what was going on there was suddenly smoke that engulfed Alabaster. Annabeth and Nico had to close their eyes due to the thickness of the smoke and cover their nose and mouth to block out the smell.

"Looks like you'll get to live another day, princess" He said, his voice echoing through the white smoke.

It took a few minutes before the smoke disappeared along with Alabaster. Their three companions found them sitting next to Jason. Leo inspected Jason's head which was oozing with blood.

"Well," Leo started "Based on the training that I received at the barracks, I conclude that… I don't know how to treat this wound."

Luke hit him on the head, "Idiot," He said "Then why did you ran off and claimed that you could patch him up."

"What hit him?" Percy asked as he turned his head to Annabeth and Nico. Nico looked away while Annabeth cleared her throat to remind herself to not get distracted with the way his eyebrows scrunched up when he gets worried and told him what happened.

"I knew I shouldn't left you three alone," He said angrily, "But that's not important right now. Luke, Leo, and I saw a small castle nearby. Maybe they have a healer that could help us there."

"Let's just hope that we don't have a run in with that sorcerer again," Luke said

"He's no sorcerer," Annabeth said.

They all looked at her and although she was itching to explain why she knew that Alabaster can't do magic but she thought that Jason's condition was more important," Can we just take Jason to a healer before he dies from that head wound?"

Luke threw the unconscious Jason on his shoulder and together, they hurried to the castle where new trouble awaits them.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the grammar and spelling mistakes. Hope you enjoyed this one. Please Review, Favorite, and Follow. If anyone has any questions, do not hesitate to ask. Thank you for Reading and I'll see you next time. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Happy New Year everyone! I hope this year turns out to be a great year for each of you and I hope that you really do those New Year's Resolution of yours. Just to inform you guys, my New Year's Resolution is to stop having resolutions since I'm not consistent enough to do those the whole year. **

**Wishsight: **Thanks and thank you for pointing out that skipping words thingy. Did it really stop? I haven't notice. I'm just doing my best to avoid it. Let's just hope that I keep it up

**The Blue Warrior(guest):** No... You didn't sound awkward. Thank you and like I said Piper's coming soon. I didn't mind answering. It's the least I could do to you for reading my story.

**Sora loves Rain: **Thank you. Hope you didn't mind waiting :)

**Robyn Flynn: **I don't know... I do enjoy doing that to Jason... Thank you :D

**Circe Sorceress (guest): **Aww.. Thank you! Hope you keep on reading

**Goddess of Idiots:** Thank you :)

**Jay Madeleine Gryff:** Thank you very much :D

* * *

**Jason**

When Jason opened his eyes, almost felt like he was in heaven. A familiar beautiful girl with brown hair and kaleidoscopic eyes was sitting next to his bed, wiping his face with a cool white cloth. He recognized her as Piper. She was smiling like she enjoyed his pain at the same time; he could see the worry in her eyes. Except for the pain on his head, he could've enjoyed the moment. He watched as the girl's smile widen.

"You're awake," She said as she stood up from her seat, Jason managed to sit up, grab her arm and ask, "Where am I?"

"You're in the castle's infirmary." She answered

Jason let her arm go and looked around. The large brick covered room was only lit by a few small candles that were on the small table next to him. He could see a few scrolls on the desk and a few more scattered on the floor, and could smell something brewing. Judging by the familiar scent he had smell during his time at a finished battle, they were cooking medical herbs. He scrunched his nose from the smell.

"This doesn't look like an infirmary," He commented

"It isn't," Piper said, "I just named it that. The castle doesn't need an infirmary since everyone who lives here that gets sick would be normally treated in their own rooms but since you don't live here, we let you stay in the medic's bedroom."

"You're the medic?" Jason asked

Piper's eyes widen, "Oh no… I couldn't possibly be a medic even if I tried. Everything I take care of dies." She laughed. Jason didn't know if she was joking but it was a good thing he didn't die under her care.

"I just volunteered to take care of you while the medic is doing his daily routine. I thought it was the least I could do for you after you saved my life when we were kids." She continued

Jason looked around again, "So what happened? Why am I here? Where are the others?

She put her hands on her hips, "You sure ask too many questions. All I know is that you hit your head and your friends brought you here. As for them, they've been waiting for you to wake up for three days."

He placed his hands on his head, trying to remember the last thing that happened before he blacked out. The only thing he could remember was a boy with brown hair and green eyes, kicking his chest which made him hit his head too hard. Jason could smack his head with the palm of his hand if only it didn't hurt so badly. If only he didn't lower down his guard, they wouldn't be delayed for three days.

Wait…

"Three days?!" He exclaimed "I've been sleeping for three days? "

Piper nodded, "To be honest, we almost thought you wouldn't make it. It was a miracle that you did. You have to thank Will for that though. He's good at what he does."

Jason slid his legs out of the bed and tried to stand up. Piper let out a small gasp, "I wouldn't try that if I were you."

He didn't listen and stood up only to feel a sharp pain on his head and fall off. He was lucky that Piper had managed to catch him. She was so close to him that he could hear her breathing. His hands were around her shoulders and hers were around his chest, his weight was being supported by her lesser weight.

"I told you so," She muttered as she helped him lay down. "You should rest for now; it's the middle of the night anyway."

"I've already been resting for three days," Jason argued.

"If you want to crawl back to your horse, be my guest." She retorted "But you wouldn't be in any use to your friends."

He let out an annoyed sigh, "Fine, but tomorrow-"

"You could do whatever you want." He didn't want to argue any further since he knew that was the best he could get and he was already sleep so he closed his eyes,

"Piper,"

"Yes?"

"May I ask why you're really here? In this place, I mean,"

Jason heard her chuckle "Isn't it obvious? I live here." She answered, not even elaborating anything as he heard a small puffing sound and even though his eyes were closed, he knew that the darkness had already surrounded him. He could hear a small clicking noise followed by another small creak. Jason knew that Piper had already left him alone.

The sunlight disturbed him from his slumber the next day, he felt too lazy to stand up or even stir.

"Maybe Reyna could just handle the Legion today," He thought then it suddenly occurred to him that he wasn't in Rome. He was in the medic's room in Piper's castle. He quickly stood up and opened the door only to be startled by Leo.

"Hey! You're awake!" Leo cried out as he hugged Jason tightly. Jason tried to pull away from the hug. "I thought you were dead. I- I never even had a best friend before you came along, you know." Leo continued.

"Leo, we don't even know much about each other. I doubt best friends should be complete strangers to one another." Jason said slowly

Leo pushed him a bit, "Well I'm sorry Lord Friendship Expert .I didn't know that best friends were supposed to know everything about each other. Do I have to know when you go to the toilet? Or how many times do you brush that hair of yours? Or how-"

"I see you're awake," A voice behind them interrupted. It was Annabeth who looked cleaner than she was when they were traveling. Her curly blonde hair with a small glistening crown resting on top was placed on one side of her shoulders. She was also wearing more elegant clothes and jewelry that made her seem more like a princess. Standing next to her was Percy who grinned from ear to ear.

"Nice to see you alive and kicking," Percy said happily. He was wearing a simple white toga and sandals that somehow suited him. He would look at Annabeth occasionally as if she was a goddess that fell from Olympus. Poor guy, he had it bad.

"Thanks, it's great to be alive," Jason said, "Where's Luke and Nico?"

"Eating breakfast," Annabeth said. At the mention of food, Jason felt his stomach growl. He hadn't eaten since he was knocked out and he was starving. His face heat up as the others chuckled.

Finally, Annabeth gave him a sympathetic look, "You must be starving. Come on, We were just about to join the others in their dining room. "

Jason was impressed by with their dining room. It was as large as any ballroom and was filled with different tables with all sorts of food, especially fruits and vegetables. The ceiling was made out of glass so they could easily see the whole sky from where they were sitting. They had a fancy table right in the middle where different servants surrounded the people who ate there. Jason could recognize some of the people who were eating there like Leo, Nico, Piper, and her sister whom he met at the announcement, Silena. He couldn't recognize the other three people who were with them.

The first one was a handsome middle aged man who could be easily mistaken as a prince. He had perfect smile, dimpled chin, twinkly dark eyes, and closely cropped black hair. He had a sad look in his eyes like he had been through years of suffering. He also had a scruffy beard that most men in the legion considered as fashionable. His face slightly resembled Piper in some ways.

The second was a beautiful girl who had dark hair, warm brown eyes and eye lashes so thick that Jason thought that it could be made into a coat. She looked like she was flirting with Luke who couldn't care less. Next to him, Nico looked like he wanted to burst out laughing at his fate.

The third one was a very, very, beautiful woman that Jason thought was he was just dreaming. She had a beautiful hair that looks like it changes color whenever the sun hits it. Her eye color changed like Piper's. She looked like she was in her mid-twenties, but she would somehow look a little younger.

Jason found himself staring at her when he felt Percy nudged him on the ribs and whispered, "I wouldn't stare if I was you, I did the same thing and I got a huge bruise from Annabeth."

"Only because she didn't want you to stare at anyone else," Jason whispered. He couldn't stop himself from smirking as Percy's face went completely red.

Suddenly, the beautiful woman snapped her head in their direction and her face lit up which made Jason a little uncomfortable but watched as she strolled towards them and passed through him and grabbed Annabeth's arms, "Oh Darling, you look lovely. Certainly not like you did three days ago. You were like a girl who looked like she lived like a savage all her life."

"Now, now, dear." The handsome man said, "I told you to stop insulting the guests."

"I wasn't insulting her," the lady said innocently then pouted

Jason noticed the displeased look briefly in Annabeth's eyes and saw her smile widely, "It's alright Lord Tristan, Lady Aphrodite is right. I really looked like a savage, I'm so glad I finally followed her advice."

Lady Aphrodite squealed and turned to Piper, "Look Piper dear, why can't you be more like Annabeth here? It only took her three days to follow my fashion advice."

Piper didn't even looked up to her as she played with her food, "That's great mother," She said absent mindedly,

Her mother only sighed disappointingly and turned her head to Jason's direction and seemed to had forgotten about Annabeth and immediately turned her attention to her. Like any other teenage boy, he usually didn't mind getting attention from beautiful women but somehow this woman was making him flustered. Jason didn't like being flustered.

She pinched his cheeks, if you already experienced getting pinched by a crab then you'll know the exact same feeling that Jason was feeling. "Aren't you just the most adorable thing ever?" She gushed like she was talking to a newborn infant. "What's your name? "

"Jason, my lady," He tried to say but it came out differently since his cheeks were too stretched to talk properly

"Strange, A roman named after a greek hero…" She trailed off but quickly went back to her bubbly self, "How come the princess gets all the handsome bodyguards?"

"It is unfair," Silena agreed

"Can I have one too?" The dark haired girl asked as she fluttered her eyelashes at Luke who ducked his head a bit. She must have noticed this since she huffed and suddenly her eyes landed on Jason and then acted like nothing happened.

"No," Lord Tristan said, "Aphrodite, dear, please let the guests have their breakfast."

She cheerfully lead them to their seats, Jason sat across Piper who waved at him as soon as their eyes met. He felt his cheeks heating up as he waved back. He couldn't understand why he was feeling strange around her and he didn't know if he liked it or not.

"So Jason…"Lady Aphrodite started as soon as she sat back on her chair. Jason turned his attention away from Piper and stared at her, "I'm sure you haven't met my daughters yet." She said

"I've met Piper and Silena before," He blurted out

"Oh yeah, we've met at the engagement party held at Annabeth's palace," Silena said as she took a bite on her food.

Percy's head shot up immediately while Annabeth's eyes widen in panic which no one in the room seemed to notice but Percy and Jason, "Engagement party?" Percy asked curiously

"Yes," Silena said as if she was shocked that he didn't know yet. "Don't you know that-"

"My cousin wanted to announce her engagement at the palace so we let her " Annabeth cut off Silena then shot her a look. Silena returned the look then returned to what she was doing.

Percy narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything and nod then continued eating his food. Lady Aphrodite seemed to notice the sudden change of mood and turned to Jason, "So... the girl next to my husband is Drew. "

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**A/N: Sorry for the grammar and spelling mistakes and the fact that this was a boring chapter. I didn't have enough time to write. Since everyone wouldn't allow me to use the computer. It's ridiculous. But I know you guys wouldn't be interested on that. I'd make it up to you guys next time. **

******Please leave a Review, Follow and Favorite and I'll see you guys soon **


	10. Chapter 10

**I got less readers on the last chapter but that's okay. To those who had read,reviewed,followed, and favorited. I know that I don't get to thank you guys too often so, Thank you! I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked the others.**

Son of Dragon:

Are you kidding me?!You guys are always one chapter ahead of me. I know right? I don't know why I get attracted to a mad Percy

**Sora loves Rain: **Thank you. Happy New Year!

**Goddess of Idiots:** Hope you like this new chapter.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians **

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**Annabeth **

Annabeth and her friends had a hard time bringing the unconscious Jason to the small palace of her mother's close friend and one of the council members of Greece, Lady Aphrodite. She had a hard time remembering the palace since she was only five years old when she stayed there and according to one of the maids, they changed the decorations every month.

Lady Aphrodite and her husband, Lord Tristan, welcomed them and ordered the healers to attend Jason's wound immediately.

At first, all of them enjoyed the luxury of living in a place where there are real beds and real foods but Annabeth immediately learned how tough it was to be back to a place where there are enough people to gossip. She made Percy follow her around so that he couldn't hear any rumors about her engagement since it was not proper to talk about the princess when she's around. She even had to ask Nico and Luke to look after Percy when she's not around.

The biggest challenge was when they had conversations at their meals with Lady Aphrodite and her family. Aphrodite and her two daughters Silena and Drew always look for a way to put her engagement with the Emperor's son in their conversation. Annabeth was only lucky that she found ways to change the topic before it brought Percy's attention. Though she does not know how long that luck would change.

A day after they got to the castle, a messenger came from Rome. He was supposed to be on his way to Annabeth's home to give the king the message but the path that he took was too difficult and he needed a place of refuge which was when he found the isolated castle in the middle of the forest.

"It was only after Praetor Jason left;" He said "Oh it was awful, very awful indeed."

Annabeth was one of the people who were in the throne room with him looked at him with concern, "What is it?"

He crawled towards her and grabbed her wrists which almost made her jump in surprise, "War, your majesty." He was shaking as he said that, "Our people did not expected it. We lost too much but the emperor told us not to fret for we had plan. Oh yes, your highness. A brilliant plan. But he asked me to go after the Praetor to delay your arrival for he was not sure that the end of the war will take a month."

Annabeth didn't know how to take the news. She was certainly glad that she was free, at least until the war finishes and she was angry since the arrival of the news made the whole kingdom buzzing with excitement and chattering. Annabeth had to be on guard more. On the third day, she finally noticed that she was terrible at it.

One good example of her miserable failure was at breakfast when Silena mentioned the party for the announcement. It was actually terrible. After telling that awful lie, Percy kept looking at her like she was secretly a murderer. Even after breakfast, while she was explaining the situation to Jason, he kept on giving that look to her.

"So we're stuck here," Annabeth heard Jason concluded. Her eyes were still on Percy who now looked like he just ate a bad fruit.

"You don't sound too upset."

"Trust me I am but I'm on a quest to guard and guide you through your journey. If I abandon you and rush to help my people then I'll be stripped off my position and marked as a coward and a traitor."

Annabeth turned her attention back to Jason, "I'm sorry." She said "You have to be stuck here when you could be back in Rome, protecting everything you care for."

He just shrugged, "If you don't mind, I'd like to look around."

"Of course," Annabeth responded and watched as he stood and left. She sighed as she turned her head to Percy who was still looking at her oddly.

"Will you stop that?" She snapped

"It's not you," He replied then muttered, "It's who's behind you. Don't look; he'll know we're talking about him. Gods, what did I do to deserve that awful look he's giving me?"

Annabeth knew what Percy was talking about. The person who was staring at him was Nico. When they were fourteen, they concluded that Nico had a personal grudge against Percy though they both didn't know what caused that grudge. They were both too nervous to ask the boy, not knowing if the question would offend him too much.

"That's rich coming from you." She blurted out. He looked startled as he turned his eyes back to her, she tried to hid the redness of her cheeks by turning her head, "You kept on looking at me the same way."

"That's different," He argued "You're hiding something from me."

"I am not," Annabeth said outrageously

He chuckled bitterly, "I may be oblivious but I'm not stupid. I know you're hiding something from me."

"Percy, I'm not hiding anything from you." She insisted but she knew that he wouldn't believe her. Percy never gives up on anything. It was one of the things she admired about him but there are times when she found that trait annoying.

He snorted, "You're a terrible liar." He said "You know, you used to tell me everything. I was supposed to be your best friend, remember?"

Her heart started to grow heavier as he started to walk away from her, "Where are you going?" She asked

"I don't know, maybe some place to think."

"Percy, don't do this," She started but it was already too late. He was already gone.

Annabeth ran her hand through her hair. She can't go after him, he'll just resent her even more but if she didn't go after him, he'll learn her secret which will make him resent her even more. Just when she thought she was hopeless, a dark haired boy started passing by again.

"Nico!" She exclaimed as she ran towards him

Annabeth created this mess when she chose the wrong path. There was no going back. She just had to find a way to get back on track.

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**A/N: Thank you for reading. I apologize for the grammar and spelling mistakes. Please Review, Favorite, and Follow. Bye! **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I'm really sorry if I haven't updated for a week or two. There was just too much work that was needed to be done and I couldn't find a time to just relax in front of the computer and type away. I should be studying for my exams tomorrow and my mom thinks that I'm doing my take home power point presentation exam but pft. It's not yet due til Wednesday.I could just procrastinate. Anyway, I would just like to thank everyone who didn't mind waiting.**

**ZoeBiancaNightshade:**Thank you! I hope you didn't mind waiting for too long and I hope you didn't die because I updated slowly. O.O. That would be a shame.

**GoddessofIdiots:** I enjoy keeping him in the dark. It's like you're part of a prank where the whole school pretends that one student was invisible and watch as he eventually gets irritated. (Horrible thing to do but it's entertaining though)

**Sora Loves Rain: **That's exactly why she's not telling him. Thank you very much! Hope you didn't mind waiting though

**The Blue Warrior: **Thank you. That part was kinda fun to write

**DaughterofHades-diAngelo:** Oh look another sister yay! I'm a daughter of Hades too! Thank you. I actually got this from a dream I had. I remember waking up and shaking my head in disappointment, thinking it was awful but I somehow ended up writing it. The twists were just something that popped in my mind along the way.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes or Olympus. **

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**Jason**

To say that Jason was having the time of his life would be an understatement. He had never been so happy in his entire seventeen years of existence. He had to admit, he wasn't exactly eager towards the idea of not doing anything for who knows how long but he found himself enjoying as the days passed by. Of course, Piper had been helping him.

Jason didn't know how to explain the fast beating in his chest or the bubbling feeling in his stomach he experienced whenever he saw Piper but tried to ignore the feeling to avoid uncomfortable encounters with her. After a few failed attempts, he realized that it doesn't work.

He liked being around her though, it was better than being around Annabeth, Percy, and Nico who all looked like they were going to burn themselves if they looked at each other. A part of him wanted to ask them why but he knew it wasn't his business.

Somehow being around Piper is not enough to forget about his worries for Rome. Jason had full confidence on his people. He trained the soldiers with Reyna, his fellow Praetor who was really good in battle. The knowledge of her leading them comforted him but didn't stop him from worrying. He grew up with them and considered them as his family after all.

He was at the palace's garden with Piper and Leo who were both trying to see who would fall off the fountain they were sitting on first for Jason's amusement when Piper suddenly looked at him with concern.

"What's wrong?" She asked "Don't you think Leo's pain isn't enough to make you laugh?"

Next to her, Leo pouted. "Sure, make fun of the blacksmith." He said "His feelings aren't important anyway."

Piper tried to jab his stomach and failed miserably which made Leo laugh. Jason's eyes drifted to the flower beds which were filled with different types and colors of beautiful blooming flowers. He wasn't surprised though, Piper's mother loved beauty more than anything. The name Aphrodite really did suite her.

"Seriously Jason," Piper said. He looked into her eyes started to change from green to brown and then blue. He really enjoyed looking at them. "What's wrong?"

"You're not usually like this," Leo added "I know Piper's jokes are terrible but it's not really that terrible."

Piper glared at him and Jason gave a small chuckle, "You two don't have to worry about me. I'm fine. I just had a lot of things on my mind."

They suddenly became quiet. Maybe because they didn't know what to say or their afraid that they'll say the wrong thing, Jason didn't know the answer. After a few seconds, Piper finally said, "Jason, I know you want to head straight to Rome and help your friends but-"

"I know," Jason cut her off. "Leading Annabeth to Rome and keeping her safe should be my first priority. "

"It's not your fault," Piper said, "Or Annabeth's"

Leo groaned, "If you don't mind, I'm not good with heart to heart talks so I'm just going to leave it to Helen of Troy over here and just go and annoy Luke or Nico."

Jason and Piper watched as Leo stood and walked away from them. Jason wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not but he could have sworn that Leo looked at him and winked. Did he really think that it was a perfect time to make a move? Not that he was making a move on Piper though.

He saw Piper rolled her eyes and moved to a new position so she could be facing him while playing with the water in the fountain. He watched her as she repeatedly scooped some of the water and returned it.

"I'm serious Jason," She finally said, "It's not your fault. You're just doing your job."

"I know," He repeated "It's just that I feel like I'm taking a nice little vacation while they're all risking their lives out there."

"It's not like you're not risking your life." She pointed out "Being around Annabeth is as dangerous as going to war."

"Hahaha…," Jason replied sarcastically, "She's not that bad, she's just intimidating and stubborn."

"You don't have to tell me that. I grew up with her anyway."

He looked at her with confusion, "You did then why aren't you-"

"Close?" She said, "Even at a young age, Annabeth already knew her priorities. She was so dedicated in helping her people that she didn't know that she was already shutting herself out from the world. She never knew how to make any friends or how to have fun so even though she was surrounded by kids her age, she's still alone. Some of us tried to make friends with her but as I said earlier, she shut herself out. Her mother supported her in this of course, that woman is all about work herself but her father was always concerned with her. I bet he was really happy when Annabeth became friends with Percy."

Jason chuckled, "I was only asking why you and Annabeth weren't close not her whole life story,"

She slapped his arm playfully," I included that." She said "If you're going to be with her all the way to Rome, you should at least understand her. Why she's doing this despite of what her heart tells her to do. In a way, you're both dealing with the same situation"

"It seems like we are." He said, trying to think about the new information he just learned. They're both stuck between duty and their heart and they're both choosing their duties first.

"I've never heard her complain about this whole arrangement," Piper said "She didn't turn her back on everyone. I really admired that about her. If it was me, I would have ran far, far away. Good thing she wasn't me then."

"Greece would be screwed if you were in her place." He agreed. She scowled, "Greece kick Rome's podex "

"You wish!"

They continued talking and teasing each other. They moved onto a different and lighter topic. Piper told him about her life with her family. She told him how annoyed she was with her mother and sisters who were all obsessed with beauty, her father who never had any time for his family, and their isolated palace in the middle of the woods. Jason talked about his life in Rome, how he was a big trouble maker when he was young and how he managed to become a Praetor at a young age.

They were in the middle of a new topic when Leo came back running to them, "You're still here?" He asked. He was panting and sweating from running, he had his hammer out and dropped it as he knelt in front of the fountain and dipped his head in it.

"What happened?" Jason asked him as soon as he came back for air. "Why do you have your hammer out?"

"The palace is under attack." He said

"What?!" Piper and Jason exclaimed in unison

"If you love birds would just stop flirting for a second and look at the other side of the castle, you could see smoke coming out of it."

Sure enough, Leo was right. There really was smoke coming out of the castle, drifting to the sky faintly as specks of ember appeared.

"Where's my family?" Piper quickly asked him, at the same time Jason asked him where the princess was.

"The princess is safe with Percy, Nico, and Luke. Piper, your family is getting ready to leave to Councilman Poseidon's palace. I could take you to them so you could leave immediately."

"We're not going with them?" Jason asked.

Leo shook his head in response.

"Why not?"

"Look, we could play twenty questions here all day and get killed or we could get out of here and live another day," Leo told him

"Good point." Piper said as she grabbed each of the boys' arm and dragged them away from the garden and back to the castle doors, wishing the main door wasn't block by the intruders.

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**A/N: Since I was gone for a while, I thought I might just add in a little bonus not intended to be posted chapter to say that I'm deeply sorry and I hope you forgive me. **

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**Percy**

_Days Earlier_

Percy had never been angry at someone he loved his whole life except maybe his father but that's another story. He thought Annabeth trusted him enough to tell him everything. He might be oblivious but he's neither blind nor stupid, she couldn't keep it a secret to him forever, especially if the whole kingdom of Greece knew. How she did that? Who knows but Percy couldn't help but think that she was good at hiding it.

After his short shouting match with Annabeth, he walked away and went to the place where he could easily calm down. Since there wasn't any sea or lake nearby, he went to the stables and visited his horse to start to complain to the poor animal.

"It's like she thinks I'm stupid enough to not even notice it," He told the horse who just looked curiously at the carrot he was waving around. "Does she think I'm not trust worthy? The whole Greece knows, why can't I know? Tell me Blackjack."

"Maybe because she thinks you might go even crazier."

Percy blinked at the horse almost thinking that it was him who spoke but Blackjack just continued to stare at the carrot. He finally looked behind him and saw Nico leaning on the doorframe, his arms were crossed. Percy felt his hand jerked a bit. Blackjack grabbing the carrot snapped him out of his daze.

"Did Annabeth send you?" Percy scowled

"No," Percy gave him a pointed look, "Maybe…. Okay yes but I'm also here because I want to."

Percy raised an eyebrow at him. Nico stared back with an annoyed expression.

"I know it's none of my business" Nico started "But you're not being fair. It's not like you're not hiding something from her."

"That's different" He argued

"Yes it is," Nico agreed "She's just keeping her secret while you're hiding your whole identity."

Percy kept himself quiet. He was the only one who was supposed to know about it. That secret was supposed to be buried and kept hidden ever since he realized he was in love with her.

"How did you know about that?" He asked the pale boy.

He smiled in return like he was pleased that he hit the nerve, "How angry and depressed do you think she'll be if she learned that the man she loves is the son of her mother's worst enemy who was originally sent to steal the kingdom from her family?"

"Don't you dare," Percy growled. Nico looked unfazed and stopped smiling, his expression turned serious, "Then you know what she's going through right now. If I were you, I'd stop acting like an idiot and go back to her. If you really love her as much as you claim you do, you'd stop holding a grudge just because she's hiding something that's probably not important."

Percy looked ashamed as he turned his attention back to his horse and rubbed the back of Blackjack's ear, "Maybe you're right," He admitted to Nico

He heard the stable doors creaked, "Percy." He heard Nico called out. He turned his head to his direction and he once again couldn't help but be amaze at how his eyes looked old and sad despite of the small smile on his face.

"Your secret safe with me." He said softly before completely leaving the stables.

His mind couldn't help but wander at that time when his father forced him to go to Athens and do everything in his power to earn the trust of the king and queen, learn their secrets and find a way to steal the crown from them.

_"There has to be a way," His father's voice echoed in his mind_

_"Poseidon! You can't possibly make our son do this." Percy heard his mother say_

Percy said his good-byes to his horse and left the stables to find Annabeth.

_"He's only a child!"_

_"Which will make it easier for him to get in"_

Annabeth wasn't in her room. He tried to knock a few times but no one was answering. He sighed as he ran his hands through his messy jet black hair. Maybe he should try the library, Annabeth loved reading scrolls. She used to read all day, Percy could remember watching her adorable concentrated face while she read. But that memory was making it hard for him to remember.

_"Why can't Triton do it? He's older than our little Percy!"_

_"They know about Triton, there's no way they'll trust him. Especially Athena, she's too careful"_

_"She won't trust Percy either. Why can't you be satisfied with what we have right now?"_

_Poseidon ignored her and faced Percy, "You have to find a way boy," He told him "Do you understand?"_

_A small boy's voice spoken, "But father…"_

_"Do you understand?!"_

_"Yes father."_

He started to make his way to the library, ignoring the looks and greeting he was getting.

_"What do you mean you won't do this any longer?"_

_"I'm saying I don't want to do this." The small boy's voice earlier became deeper and even more confident, "I'm sick and tired of playing spy for you."_

_"It's a girl isn't it. I was once a young man like girl, whoever she is, is the reason why you stopped following orders."_

Percy spotted a curly blonde hair girl who was reading a scroll and was surrounded by a few more scrolls by her feet. "Annabeth?"

The girl looked at him, set down her scroll and gave him a small smile that made his heart flutter.

"Hi Percy." She greeted and patted the seat next to hers.

_"You're wrong. "He remembered his response to his father "That girl is the reason why I started following my heart."_

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**A/N: So that's that! I hope you like it. Please forgive me for the grammatical,spelling and punctuation errors. Click on Favorite and Follow if you like this story and Leave a Review if you want to express your feelings about this story or if you just really hate me and want to curse me. I'll read it and respond. Thank you! **


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